Strict and free style in polyphony

Polyphony is a type of polyphony, based on the combination and simultaneous development of two or more independent melodies. In polyphony, in the process of its development, two styles were formed and developed: strict and free.

Strict style or strict letter in polyphony

The strict style was perfected in vocal and choral music of the 15th-16th centuries (although polyphony itself, of course, originated much earlier). This means that the melody construction feature depended to a greater extent on the capabilities of the human voice.

The melody range was determined by the voice tessitura for which the music was intended (usually, the range did not exceed the duodecime interval). There were excluded inconvenient for singing jumps on small and large septim, reduced and extended intervals. The melodic development was dominated by a smooth and stepwise motion on a diatonic modal basis.

Under these conditions, the rhythmic organization of the structure is of paramount importance. Thus, rhythmic diversity in a number of works is the only driving force of musical development.

Representatives of the strict style of polyphony are, for example, O. Lasso and J. Palestrina.

Free style or free polyphony

Free style in polyphony developed in vocal-instrumental and instrumental music, starting from the XVII century. From here, that is, from the possibilities of instrumental music, the free and unconstrained sounding of the theme of the melody proceeds, since it no longer depends on the range of the singing voice.

Unlike strict style, large interval jumps are allowed here. A wide choice of rhythmic units, as well as the wide use of chromatic and altered sounds - all this in polyphony distinguishes free from strict style.

The work of the famous composers Bach and Handel is the pinnacle of free style in polyphony. Almost all later composers, for example, Mozart and Beethoven, Glinka and Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich (he, by the way, had experiments with strict polyphony) and Shchedrin, followed the same path.

So, let's try to compare these 2 styles:

• If in a simple style the theme is neutral and difficult to remember, then in a free style the theme is a bright melody, easy to remember.
• If the strict writing technique affected mainly vocal music, then in free style the genres are diverse: from the instrumental music field, and from the vocal-instrumental music field.
• Music in strict polyphonic writing in its modal basis relied on ancient church lines, and in free polyphonic writing composers with might and main operate with a more centralized major and minor with their harmonic patterns.
• If strict style is characterized by functional uncertainty and clarity comes exclusively in kadansah, then in free style certainty in harmonic functions is pronounced.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries, composers continued to widely use the forms of the era of strict style. These are motet, variations (including those based on ostinato), richercar, various imitation forms per choral. The free style includes fugue, as well as numerous forms in which the polyphonic presentation interacts with the homophonic warehouse.

The author - G.M.